Anterior nasal spine

Other Terms:
Spina nasalis anterior corporis maxillae

Description

The lower border of the nasal notch or incisure ends infero-anteriorly as the sharp nasal spine. This joins the similar process from the adjoining maxilla to form the pointed projection in the anterior midline. The base of the septal nasal cartilage attaches to this process.

Etymology

The term nasal comes from the Latin nasus arising from the Sanskrit term nasa, both meaning nose. Spine is derived from the Latin spina meaning a thorn. Anatomists use the term to designate pointed projections of bone.